Report: $30M needed for theater's revival

Brittany Lyte

Updated 11:38 pm, Friday, April 13, 2012

STRATFORD -- Reviving the town's Shakespeare Theater would cost about $30 million, according to a consultant group hired by the town to recommend a nonprofit business plan and fundraising program for the long-vacant building.

That would buy the town a redesigned but smaller popular arts venue catering to local and regional audiences, said Willem Brans, vice president of Arts Consulting Group.

"There are the bones of a theater to work with here," Brans told two dozen Town Council and community members who attended a presentation on ACG's preliminary findings at Town Hall on Thursday night.

ACG's preliminary, multi-year plan for the theater's renaissance involves reducing seating from 1,500 to about 600; removing the front lobby, balconies and building housing mechanical equipment; adding a glass-enclosed ticket booth and creating rehearsal, storage and administrative space within the building.

The consultant said the town should reinvent the theater as a hub for the popular arts -- not just Shakespeare. It should host performances by local and regional musicians, dance groups, cabaret programs and comedy troupes, in addition to an annual summer Shakespeare festival.

Built in 1955, the town-owned theater once drew talent that included big-name actors like James Earl Jones and Katharine Hepburn. Those glory days were cut short when the theater closed upon the death of a wealthy local man known to shore up it's finances. The building has stood vacant since it closed in the mid 1980s.

Revival of the theater will take extensive fundraising and planning, Brans said.

"No one is going to come from outside as an angel and say, `We want this to happen and here's the money,' " he said.

Dave Fuller, former town councilman, said he supports renewal. But he's not sold on the price.

"I don't know if a community can support at $30 million idea," he said.